Can’t Stop Now: It’s Just About… Life.

You can’t stop me now, the world is waiting
It’s my turn to stand out from the crowd
You can’t stop me now, the tide is turning
I’m gonna make you proud
– Rod Stewart, “Can’t Stop Me Now”

Find the reason to believe. Then find your G-d given talent, fire it up with your passion, find a way to give back, then find out what it’s like to live.

Isn’t that what we all want in the end? Not just to exist, but to really live. The irony is that while you are trying to live, life gets in the way. So you have to reach back, or maybe I should say, find the discipline to move forward and do the little things, every day, day after day, that get you to the place you really want to go. Not just to be, but to become more, get better, be a better version of you.

It’s not easy, nothing worthwhile ever is. The book I just authored and published, It Takes 2. Surviving Breast Cancer: A Spouse’s Story, is but a a milestone in pursuit of this mission, it is a marker along the journey. And it wasn’t easy even traveling that first mile, but now I can glance back for a moment and see how I truly lived during every minute of the process, and part of the process was finding a way to inspire myself. Writing down my vision, my goals, putting together a plan, doing something every day to reach that goal and facing every obstacle with a will to not let it beat me down, turn me back or make me stop. You can’t stop me now. I want the same for you, and I will share one thing which made a difference.

Music. I’ve written about it countless times in these blog posts, it is a single thread in the fabric of our heart and soul, and it can change everything. Find the right songs, the right words, feel them deep inside and use them to lift your spirit, keep your passion alive and watch what happens. It is but one way to overcome the obstacles and keep you believing that something you want to pursue is truly within your reach..whatever that something might be for you.

There’s always going to be another mountain.
I’m always going to want to make it move
There’s always going to be an uphill battle
Sometimes I’m going to have to lose
It’s not about how fast I get there, it’s not about what’s waiting on the other side
It’s the climb.
– Miley Cyrus, The Climb

The right words, the right music, can help push you forward in ways you can’t imagine. Don’t care who sings it, what other people might think about you for listening to it, it’s all about what it does for you, to keep you headed in the right direction. I know I want inspiration to fuel my passion and my purpose because life is hard, but the right song, the right lyrics, can keep you fighting just as hard.

What if it all goes right, what if it all works out
What if the stars line up and good luck rains down
What if you chase your dream and it changes your whole life
What if it all goes right.
– Melissa Lawson, What If It All Goes Right

Ask yourself that question, then understand you won’t get the answer, until you try. Yesterday the book I wrote became an official Best Seller on Amazon, top five in one of its niche categories. You can’t tell me it’s not worth it. Songs helped get me there and music is what I turned to again yesterday to help me feel the moment more deeply.

If I could reach higher, for just one moment touch the sky
From that one moment in my life
I’m gonna be stronger
Know that I’ve tried my very best, put my spirit the test.
If I could reach.
– Gloria Estefan, Reach

To reach the goal, to make a difference, first you have to change. Change how you view the world, especially if you see it as an obstacle in your path, a distraction in your life… and if your goal is to change the world, then go for it. But it has to start from deep inside, take stock of who you are.

I’m gonna make a change, for once in my life
Gonna feel real good, gonna make a difference
Gonna make it right…
I’m starting with the man in the mirror
I’m asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you want to make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and make the change.
– Michael Jackson, Man in the Mirror

Take a good look at yourself, find your why then find a way. Say this to yourself, “I will climb this mountain, with this G-d given talent, if it’s the last thing that I do.” That’s just one more lyric from the song which started this blog, “Can’t Stop Me Now”, by Rod Stewart. It’s exactly what he did with his life and as he looks back on it in that song, he can sing it with pride, because he made it happen, and shared his talent with the world. It’s inspiring.

There is no doubt the world will be a better place if you can do the same, learn what you are really all about and then make your heart sing. Do it, start from the inside out, then watch what happens. The universe will conspire on your behalf, attracted by your radiating presence. This isn’t some new age hocus-pocus, it’s a fact. Give it a shot and then get out of your own way. The day you realize what makes you unique and wonderful, and find a way to share it with other people, with us, is the day you start really living… and you will do so until the day you die. And we will all be better for it.

Cause I believe that I, was born with a song inside of me
Never question why, I just kept on chasing that melody…
On the day that I die, I want to say that I
Was a man who really lived and never compromised
And when I’ve lived out my days, until the very end
I hope they find me in my home, a guitar in my hands
I hope they find me in my home with my guitar in my hands.
– Zac Brown Band, Day That I Die.

Start living. You can’t stop now.

Until next time, thanks for taking the time.

Mark